Today's Talk: Columbia City Council to discuss renewing sales tax

COLUMBIA - The Columbia city council planned to discuss a measure Monday night that would renew a sales tax for the next 10 years.

The capital improvement sales tax would aim to help fund various street, sidewalk and building improvements and help fund police and fire departments. The city council was set to discuss putting the measure on the August ballot.

The sales tax is anticipated to generate $10 million in revenue for the city in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, and $53 million from 2018 to 2026, making the total impact $63 million for Columbia.

The current capital improvement sales tax is a one-fourth cent sales tax that generates $6.3 million annually, according to the city finance department. The sales tax, in place for ten years, expires Dec. 31, 2015. If voters approve the measure in August, the tax would extend another 10 years and maintain its one-fourth cent rate.

Do you think the sales tax should be extended? What should the tax revenue fund? Do you have suggestions for how the funds should be used? Let us know in the comments section or on Facebook, and your comments could be used in our "Today's Talk" segment on KOMU 8 News First at Five.